Resident Innocence
by Lunan
Summary: Lenalee went missing while tracking an Innocence in northern Spain, and most likely has been captured. Allen, Lavi, your misson: Find Lenalee and recover the Innocence! warnings for violence and spoilers  RE4 crossover ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

Resident Innocence

Summary: Lenalee went missing while tracking an innocence in northern Spain, and is most likely captured. Allen and Lavi, your mission: Find Lenalee and recover the Innocence!

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man or Resident Evil. Please do not copy my story verbatim, it's plagiarism.

Spoiler warnings: Follows the events of Resident Evil 4.

-

Chapter One- No Innocence, New Gear

-

Trekking through the grey rural countryside of northern Spain in early November was definitely not Lavi's idea of fun, and he voiced his discontent, loudly.

"Allen-kun!" he whined to his partner, "I'm starting to go colorblind from the scenery, are we there yet?"

Allen glanced at the redhead. "I don't know Lavi, you're the one with the maps. You tell me if we're there yet."

"Maa, you're no fun Moyashi!" said Lavi as he pulled out one of said maps. "It looks like we're nearly there, just another mile and a half if this is right."

"Good, maybe we'll get there by nightfall, if we move quickly." replied Allen, glancing up at the darkening sky.

Lavi brightened up immensely and sprinted off, eager to leave the monotony of the road. Allen quickly caught up with him and asked. "Lavi, why don't you just use your hammer? We could have gotten there faster."

Lavi shook his head. "No, Komui specifically said not to use our Innocence unless absolutely necessary. Lenalee may have been captured because of it, we want to rescue her, not join her."

Allen sweat-dropped. "You could have said that before, but I guess that's why he gave us all this stuff," he said, shifting the large pack on his back to a more comfortable position. "But what is all this junk? Camping gear?"

Lavi skidded to a halt, causing Allen to run into his back. "I dunno Allen, he didn't say before he shoved us out the door." he mused, then grinned. "Let's check!" he said as he unbuckled his own pack.

Following suit, the first thing Allen saw inside was a rather thick booklet. Curious, he flipped it open and discovered a note from Komui on the first page.

_Allen,_

_I'm sorry that I could not brief you and Lavi on this new gear, but time is of the essence._

_Our Finders have reported that the village you are heading to is the home base of what appears to be a Sadist cult. The people of the village appear to follow this group's ideals and orders rather blindly, and attack all outsiders with no discretion._

_While I understand your hesitance to fight and/or kill humans, this may become necessary for both you and Lavi. These people, according to the Finders before we lost contact with them, the villagers have suddenly turned violent. I wouldn't be surprised if you found more than a few corpses about the place. The two of you may very well have to fight your way out in some instances._

_The science department has prepared specialty weapons for you two. The rest of this booklet will explain the function and application of each item. Most of your gear was prepared for you alone Allen, so Lavi will not have all the same equipment._

_May you both be safe and return home with Lenalee soon,_

_Komui._

_P. S. Don't be too scared by the volatile nature of some of the weapons, use them to your own discretion._

Allen couldn't help but twitch at the man's warnings. _'I don't know whether to think this is a joke or if he's serious,'_he glanced at Lavi, who was now rummaging through his pack with a grim expression. _'Whoa, Lavi's actually serious! Guess Komui's note spooked him too, might as well.' _He then started his own inspection of the bag's contents.

Eventually he had most of the wrapped parcels laid out in front of him, and holding the largest in his hands. Carefully he untied the cords and pulled away the waterproof cloth, revealing a strange gleaming metal contraption with thick leather strapping and buckles on the underside. He laid that on it's cloth and consulted the booklet for answers. He found the page by the illustration of the piece and began to read.

_Armament A001-Right Hand Shot Cannon_

_The Shot Cannon is designed to be your primary weapon Allen. The apparatus is strapped to the full length of your arm and over the back of your hand. It is fully flexible at the elbow and shoulder, and should be stored folded onto itself. When worn properly, it should not hamper your movement and provide some extra armoring to your arm._

_This weapon has four modes: Stun, Cannon, Shot, and Grappler. The Stun mode utilizes a non-lethal electric shock to paralyze the target momentarily. The Cannon mode is an explosive Energy charge ( similar to your Innocence, but with more explosive power ). The Shot uses five types of standard metal bullets and cartridges of various calibers: 9mm handgun bullets, 12 gauge shotgun shells, .45 caliber magnum bullets, .223 caliber rifle rounds ( Sniper Scope is built into this mode, it retracts if you're not using it. ), and explosive mine darts. The grappler function is self explanatory._

_Handgun- Primary mode, is the most flexible, and handles similarly to a standard handgun._

_Shotgun- Wide-shot mode, immobilizes the wrist due to recoil and requires both hands on the weapon. You use your left hand to slide the reload like a pump-action shotgun. Note: successful strikes are rather messy, best for crowds when stealth is not an option._

_Magnum- Grande mode, partially restrains both wrist and elbow due to recoil. This is the most powerful option for precision in semi-close quarters combat._

_Rifle- Sniper mode, fully immobilizes wrist and elbow for stability. Has far greater range than all other modes. The sniper scope gives a live video feed into your headset, but the cable must be attached first._

_Mine darts- Guerilla mode. Virtually silent, best for sneak attacks. Restricts all motion of your wrist. The darts explode after three to five seconds if in contact with flesh, or when remotely triggered. Note: not intended for terrain targets like wood, rock, and metal._

_Innocence- Cannon mode, has fairly long range, and the greatest payload. As said, it is explosive, so use with caution if your partner is in range._

_The Grappler fires a grappling hook that should penetrate many materials easily and reel you to it or something to you, useful for rapid movement over tall or far obstacles. Careful though, the hook is sharp and barbed._

_You have been provided with ammunition for each mode of the Shot Cannon and a spare grapple hook, follow instructions for loading and learn to recognize each type._

Allen sweatdropped at the descriptions. "Good grief, that man is a sadist for designing this thing! Lavi, what did he give you?"

The redhead laughed nervously as he held up what appeared to be a collapsible, straight bladed ax and a set of three guns, a handgun, a sawed-off shotgun, and a revolver. On the ground was a harness and several holsters with small wrapped packages that Allen assumed to be ammunition. "He said that the ax fitted how I use my hammer, he called it a 'Lance Cleaver'. I don't disagree with the guy, but it's a bit disturbing how sharp this thing is" he replied, eyeing the weapons. "The other end has a weight, so it's actually a balanced weapon, it'll take getting used to. He said something about working in tandem with your weapon, some kind of firearm with multiple ammo types, what'd ya get?"

The white haired exorcist counted them all out mentally. "Five kinds of ammo, a grappling hook, something similar to my Innocence cannon, and a stun gun, so that's eight."

Lavi sputtered. "W-what?! What extra kinds did'ya get?"

"Sniper rounds and mine darts, apparently." Allen returned to unwrapping the other packages. He ended up with a harness similar to Lavi's, a knife and sheath to strap to the harness, a first-aid kit, a spare handgun and leg holster, several boxes of ammunition, a new pair of armored boots, a fingerless glove for his right hand and a new armored glove for his left. With the gloves was a wireless headset with a lens over his right eye.

He jumped as Lavi gave a loud groan. Turning, he saw the apprentice Bookman staring in horror at could only be a set of explosives and grenades. Wincing in sympathy, Allen called to him. "Guess we both ended up with things we don't like, are those that new kind of grenades with that napalm stuff I heard River talking about?"

Lavi nodded without saying anything. With that, the two began to strap on the various harnesses and holsters, grateful for the new uniforms and their added mobility. Both had received new boots, a knife, a spare handgun, and a headset, though Lavi's lens was over his uncovered left eye and added a metal plate over his right. The headsets were kept in place by headbands to keep their hair out of their eyes, Allen had to tie the longer back portion of his hair into a ponytail, having let it grow out somewhat lately.

When they had all of that set, Lavi helped Allen strap on his new main weapon. As one final touch, Lavi's new ax collapsed and the straight blade was easily sheathed in it's harness next to his shotgun, but required time to get out and ready it for combat though, so he tried it once then kept it out. They loaded their guns and tucked the remaining ammunition and first-aid kits into cases at their waists.

"Maa, we look like we're going to the battlefront against giant robots, not people." Lavi said with a shudder, then with a nervous smile. "Well, now that that's all set, shall we raise some hell?"

Allen nodded grimly. His weapon was rather heavy, but it was almost like having his Innocence claw on his right arm, and it somewhat comforted him. "This is going to take getting used to Lavi, but I get the feeling we're going to be in for a long haul. Let's hope we can find Lenalee and get her and the Innocence out safely."

They wrapped up whatever they had discarded into the packs and hoisted them over their shoulders, heading closer to the village as the sky darkened rapidly above them.

--

Allen and Lavi came to a broken bridge just as the last of daylight faded over the horizon. Lavi peered into the gap below, and spotted two recently destroyed vehicles on the other side.

He gave a low whistle. "Man, those things are still smoking Allen-kun, couldn't have been more than five hours ago, and one's a police car!"

"This is bad Lavi. Someone else has come here. We need to search for survivors if at all possible." said Allen quietly. He reached to the underside of his new weapon and switched it to it's Grappler mode with three solid clicks. "Hold on to me, I'll get us over."

The redhead complied, taking a firm hold on a handle set into the shoulder of the weapon. "Fire away."

Allen fired, and the barbed hook dug into a wooden post on the other side with a satisfying thud. Giving it a sharp tug, the weapon reeled the two over with a lot more force than expected. Thankfully they both managed to land on their feet before they were slammed to the ground.

"Yikes, that was rough...let's do that again Allen!" said Lavi, waving his ax in the air dangerously close to his partner's head.

"Watch it Lavi! That thing's sharp, you could kill me!"squeaked Allen indignantly. "We'd better get moving."

Lavi seemed to deflate slightly, but perked up as he spotted a nearby cabin. "Let's check in there, see what's up."

The two stepped inside slowly and rounded the corner to the left, then froze.

They gagged violently as the horrid stench of a rotting corpse reached them, but were stunned to see the very corpse _twitching_! The thing rose from the floor, congealed blood dripping from it's face and chest.

"Ah, Lavi, is that supposed to happen?" Allen asked.

He got no response as thick, red tentacles ripped out the cadaver's torso. Lavi jumped and brought his ax over his head, bringing it down on the thing's head with so much force he cut it in vertical halves.

The now bifurcated corpse fell to the floor with a squelch, blood and a strange yellow slime oozing everywhere before the entire thing dissolved into a puddle of rapidly congealing fluids.

"Gross."

"Allen, that is _not_supposed to happen." said Lavi as he shook some of the mess from his axblade, his face pale enough to rival Allen's hair. "I can't make a proper hypothesis unless we find more evidence, but I can say this looks like _big_trouble."

Allen looked into the fireplace in front of them curiously, trying to identify what had been burning before, but gave up. He then peered into the stairwell through a door to the left of the hearth and valiantly resisted the urge to throw up.

Under the stairs in an alcove were the piled skulls and bones of what could only have been several people, and the most of them children. There was still a great deal of rotting flesh on the bones, they had apparently been stacked on top of each other gradually, as a thick dark ooze dripped from the bottom of the pile through bare, older bones.

He turned around and walked out of the cabin stiffly, fighting not to throw up then and there. Lavi seemed to notice his distress and followed him out.

"What is it?" he asked Allen softly, rubbing his back.

Gasping slightly Allen managed to tell his partner. "They...they've killed so many Lavi. Don't go back in there."

"I understand kiddo, let's move on and pray they haven't done the same to Lenalee." he told him quietly. "We've got to get going. There's only way to do this, and that's to go deeper. I don't we're going to like this, but we may have no choice."

--

True to his word, Lavi led the way in deeper to the village. They eventually made their way to a large metal gate set with a strange insignia, it was locked.

"Allen," Lavi asked. "Think we can just jump it?"

He got no answer save for his partner leaping up and well over the gate, taking Lavi with him.

Lavi landed in a heap on the other side. "Geeze Allen! Warn me next time." he grumbled as he picked himself up and dusted off his backside.

At that precise moment the sound of a gunshot and the slam of a metal door rang out from the opposite end of the little village. The exorcists glanced at each other then leapt forward to investigate. Threatening shouts in Spanish reached them, and Lavi blushed slightly at some of the choice words.

"Ahh, I don't think these villagers were very well taught Allen. Violent, filthy, murdering and foul language."

Allen sighed. "I don't want to know."

He was about to continue when more gunshots sounded, and a sickening splurch reached their ears right below the roof they were standing on.

"Ano, Allen, you don't want to look down...s-someone just shot off a man's head."

Despite the warning, Allen looked aver the edge in time to see tentacles rip out from the decapitated body at the neck. They were nearly half as long as the man was tall, a long bladed tendril whipped about dangerously and a throbbing sort of head wormed it's way through the writhing mass.

The only thing Allen could think of through his shock to call the monstrosity was a single word

"P-parasite!" he gasped, automatically pulling off his glove and activating his Innocence, swiping his long black claws at the grotesque head. It died with a high screech and spattered Allen's claws in a mix of blood and ooze.

A scream further ahead made the two look up from the now rapidly dissolving corpse. A man, probably in his twenties, stood before the iron door of a building shooting at the crazed villagers trying to reach the blond girl hiding behind him. With no hesitation the exorcists dashed to help him. Allen deactivated his Innocence and put his glove back on, switching his Shot Cannon to stun mode and attacking the nearest figure where it dropped, twitching. Lavi lashed out with the weighted end of his ax on another, who dropped without a sound.

The man at the door noticed them, but said nothing until all of the mob were either dead or stunned. With a huff, he ran a hand through his sand-blonde hair, but did not put away his gun. "You'd better finish them off now before they recover, they get up quickly." he said warily, noticing the rose-cross emblems on the exorcist's shoulders. "Just great," he muttered. "More insane organizations to deal with." Then louder, he addressed the two. "You two are of that crazy 'Black Order' aren't you? Are you whack-jobs after Ashley too?"

Allen and Lavi sweatdropped and looked at each other. "Whack...jobs?" asked Lavi. "Why'd ya say that, how do you even know about us, and why would we be after you, whoever you are Miss?"

"Look out behind you!" the girl cried out, pointing to Allen.

He whipped around only to be grabbed by the neck. The man that had grabbed him began to constrict his throat, and Allen saw that his eyes glowed faintly red...before the weight of Lavi's ax knocked the villager's head clean off that is.

"Allen-kun! You okay?" Lavi asked as the body dissolved.

"I'm fine. But that man," Allen trailed off.

"Don't bother. I think all of them are infected, with what exactly I don't know." said the man gruffly. He aimed his gun at the head of the nearest downed man, and fired.

Immediately the head exploded and tentacles ripped out in it's place. Lavi jumped and brought his axblade down before the creature could get up, eliciting a terrible screech from it as it thrashed. He swung his ax once more at the thing, and it screeched once more before going still and dissolving. "Whoa, you're right. Allen-kun, we'd better handle this quickly, they're getting up!"

The white-haired exorcist was about to protest when they all heard a strange "vreee" sound, one Allen had not heard in months.

He felt his left eye change with a searing heat, and his vison went black.

**--**

"_Allen...Allen-kun...wake up, _moyashi-chan!"

"Ugh, Lavi...don't call me that." growled Allen as he sat up. "Ow, how long was I out?"

Lavi grinned with relief. "Less than five minutes Allen-kun. Man, that eye of yours is a pain sometimes. You didn't see anything did ya?"

"No, just a lot of red lights."

"Wha?"

The blonde man grabbed Allen's shoulder and yanked him up. "What's with that eye?" he asked scathingly, his expression hard.

Lavi waved his hands in a placating gesture. "Easy, Allen-kun's eye is bionic." he said, quickly giving the man what he hoped was a believable story. "He lost his real eye five years ago..."

Allen cut him off. "Three years and nine months Lavi, get it right." with that, the man dropped him.

Lavi chuckled. "Hey, we've only been partners for six months. I don't get everything right all the time."

"Oh, shut up."

The girl giggled at their antics. "You two seem to be good friends, whoever you are."

The redhead turned to her and gave a gentlemanly bow. "Name's Lavi, pretty miss. Lavi Bookman." he said with a perfectly straight face. Giving the two a surname seemed to be the smartest thing to do at the time, only having a given name sounded too much like a codename in this case. "And this white-haired guy is my partner..."

"Allen Walker." Allen finished. "What are your names?"

The girl was about to answer when the man stepped in front of her. "Not until you tell me what you're here for. You guys are of that secretive 'Black Order', the CIA could never get any information on you people, what is your objective?"

Lavi looked the guy straight in the eyes, and his voice became grave. "Simply to rescue a comrade, she had been captured two days ago while investigating the strange occurrences here."

He then smiled. "Anyhow, what are you here for? Can't be a picnic in this weather."

The man narrowed his eyes at the irrepressible redhead. "My name is Leon Kennedy. A government agent. It's my job to get Ashley out of here safely by any means possible."

"Got'cha, you're the knight in shining armor rescuing the kidnaped princess from the evil dragon's keep. Classic." chuckled Lavi. "Care to let us join up for a while? The more the merrier, since the locals don't look that friendly."

Leon nodded. "Fine, but I'm keeping an eye on you two. One wrong move and you're dead."

-

-

AN

I'm sorry for any mixups, but I'm reposting each chapter paired with a second, if anyone noticed.

Again, I ask for your reviews and constructive criticism to help me in my writing.

Later,

Lunan.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

--

Allen and Lavi quickly jumped into the fray as more villagers came down the path behind a tower.

"Leon, guard Miss Ashley! We'll handle the front runners." called Lavi over his shoulder. "Allen, try to pick 'em off!"

"Are you mad Lavi?! If I..." Allen stopped as he felt his eye activate with a familiar _"vreee"_ sound. The vison in his left eye faded to black and white, and strange red and yellow lights appeared on every villager's chest. "No way, it can't be...akuma?" he gasped, turning to Lavi. "Lavi! These people..."

"Allen-kun, what is it? See any akuma?"

"No."

Lavi nearly facefaulted. "What!?"

"I'll tell you later, just cut them down. If anything, these things may be worse." said Allen softly as he shifted his weapon's mode to shoot shotgun. It activated with four ratcheting clicks and the hinge on his wrist snapped straight and locked. Placing his left hand on top of his forearm, he aimed at an approaching villager's head and fired.

The blast caused the head to explode and tentacles to rip out. Allen saw the sickly yellow glow overwhelm the red and spread throughout the body before he fired again, destroying it.

"That's why Lavi, they all seem to be like that, just as Leon said. Some appear more advanced than others, but they all have the same infection. I don't think they're human anymore."

"Got it."

With that the two leapt into the fray, shotgun blasting and ax swinging. In a few short minutes the area was clear and Lavi had to spend a while hitting the bear traps lining the paths before they could proceed.

'**Clang**' "YIPE!"

"Lavi, be careful." called Allen. "There's one next to your right foot." to Leon and Ashley he asked, "where do you need to get too? There seems to be only one way out of the village besides the way we came in, where too?"

"The opposite. The extraction point is beyond the farm that way, so we have to pass through regardless."

--

Leon was right, the only way to get beyond the village was another path that led through a farm.

Unfortunately though, said path was blocked by a particularly large steel door, which was behind a tall stockade.

"Geeze, I thought this was supposed to be a farm." muttered Lavi. "Where's all the animals and what's up with these farmers, eh?"

"Lavi, you're being a pest. Anyway, Leon. What should we do?" asked Allen. "At least one of us has to protect Miss Ashley, but we need to clear the area of the parasites."

Leon froze. "What did you say?"

The pale exorcist looked at him through one eye, keeping his left closed. "I'll clarify later, but we really can't hesitate, as hypocritical as I sound."

Lavi seconded him. "I trust Moyashi-chan's judgement. He usually knows what he's talking about when it comes to our enemies."

"Lavi, don't call me that."

Ashley looked scared as she huddled closer to Leon, gazing over his shoulder across the farm. "They're coming Leon."

Allen switched modes to shoot sniper, four heavy clicks sounded out as his wrist and elbow straightened and locked, a sniper scope detached from the upper arm and a cable reel opened. Lavi jumped forward and helped attach the cable to Allen's headset, giving him live feed from the scope.

Raising his arm he took aim, sighting a villager's chest. "Lavi, I'll be getting as many as I can before they get too close. I think I have a minimum range of five yards with this before this gets too cumbersome to aim, then they're all yours and Leon's." With those words, he fired.

His target dropped like a rock and dissolved instantly. Two more popped up in his place, one in front of the other, these also dropped as Allen shot them both at once and blasted their heads off.

"Maa, Allen-kun. You sure are sadistic sometimes." Lavi chuckled weakly. "But if you insist."

The attackers just kept coming, and getting mowed down, until the last one had been killed in a shower of blood and slime.

"Yuck," Ashley nearly retched. "What is this anyway?"

"Yeah Allen, what is it? Did ya see something I didn't?" asked Lavi.

"I think," he replied and reset his weapon to handgun, freeing up his joints. "I'll talk as we're moving." he pointed towards the door they needed to pass. "Leon, how do we get back there?"

"There is a ladder in that barn, and a catwalk behind it that leads inside." Leon answered.

"Lead the way." Lavi said with a sweep of a hand, his other trying to dislodge a stubborn glob of slime from his ax. "Gimme a sec though. Ah, got it! Well Allen, what did you see? And why are you so stern all of a sudden?"

The group started forward and Allen started explaining. "I saw something strange after I woke up. Every villager had a red light on their chests. Above the red, or surrounding it actually, was this sickly yellow. The yellow glow extended through the rest of the body when the head was destroyed, and the red light disappeared. That's when the tentacles ripped out."

They were now inside the stockade, save for Ashley. Leon took a minute to catch her, then turned to Allen. "How exactly are you seeing all this? Is it that so called 'bionic eye' of yours?"

The exorcists nodded. "Yes. It normally detects our enemy's weapons, or to be more accurate, the power sources. My eye was designed to see this substance, since I had lost my real one just before I came into this line of work. One of the Order's top agents, a General, took me on as his apprentice soon afterward."

Ashley piped up nervously. "What happened exactly? How old were you?"

"I was barely twelve when I was attacked, and my father killed." Allen told them. "I'm almost sixteen now, I spent three years training with Master and have been an official agent for nearly a year now."

"He lost his eye to an enemy weapon, we call them 'akuma', the Japanese word for demon." continued Lavi. "The one operating it traced out that weird scar of his, it never healed."

The words had a satisfying effect on the Americans, shocked out of their minds.

Ashley went pale. "What kind of sicko attacks a twelve-year-old like that?!"

"The enemy. The bastard was there, watching, he ordered my death."

Lavi's expression hardened. "We're two of the four youngest operatives in the Black Order, but four of the best aside from the Generals. And you can trust Allen to be the strongest of a team, like his master, the strongest of the Generals."

Allen's expression was almost comical. "That man...is a borderline sociopath. Effective, but insane." he said, groaning at a memory.

Neither of them were telling the full truth, but weren't technically lying. The only non-truth was Allen's cursed eye being a bionic one, but it was the only thing to say that these two would believe. While it was obvious that Akuma were not really "operated" per say, it was easier to explain than 'they are moved by souls called back from the dead'.

Leon was livid. "That's sick. But how did you survive, did this General save you?"

"More or less. Master took me up after seeing me fend off the weapon, even injured as I was. He asked if I wanted to fight the man that killed my father, and I said yes."

"Now Allen, why the mood swing?" asked Lavi. "You've been acting funny since you woke up."

"I...I've seen terrible things Lavi, but those people...are less than cattle...they're nothing but mindless drones." said Allen gravely. "They're all dead, soulless. Their brains look to be nothing more than a front for the parasite."

The other three were stunned, and Lavi had an uncharacteristic scowl on his face.

"That's...who would do this? To anyone?"

"I don't know Lavi. If I did, he'd already be dead."

Lavi was taken aback by the venom in his partner's voice. "By, your hand I suppose?"

Allen gave a stiff nod. "Enough of this, we need to get moving. Give me a boost over the gate will you?"

Lavi complied and Allen soon had the gate open, the others found him on the other side holding up a heavy bolt.

"Stupidly simple, but very effective." he said. "There's only one way to go from here, but it's starting to rain, let's move."

--

True enough, it began to rain heavily as the foursome made their way across a rickety bridge.

Leon stopped in the middle of the bridge when his radio beeped. He spent a minute talking with whoever it was, then hung up, cursing.

"What is it Leon?" asked Allen.

"Chopper's been shot down. But we're to head to the extraction point regardless"

Beyond the bridge was an open area, the only buildings a large cabin in the middle and a small shack at the far edge.

Just as they made into the clearing, they spotted multiple torchlights carried by no less than thirty Ganados. Turning back around, there were several more on the path they had come from.

"Leon! What now?"

"We're sandwiched alright. Quick! In that cabin."

They dashed inside and Leon slammed the door shut. Lavi heard movement behind them and raised his ax before they heard someone call Leon's name and toss him the door bolt.

Whoever it was stepped into the light, revealing himself to be a Spanish man in his mid to late twenties. His dark eyes seemed rather closed to Lavi and Allen, like a man holding in a secret.

"Small world, eh? And who might these kids be?" the man asked nonchalantly, but yelped as an axblade came dangerously close to his head.

Leon jumped. "Whoa guys, he's alright! This is Luis."

Lavi held his ax with a steady hand. "Allen-kun, status?"

Allen put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "He's clean."

Lavi lowered his weapon and smirked. "Sorry 'bout that, can't be too careful ya know."

Luis chuckled nervously. "I understand. But who are you two? You're a little young to be government agents."

"We're of the Black Order. Heard of it?"

Luis' jaw dropped. "The Black Order? Hell yes I've heard it, you two are with those paranormalist psychos?"

Both exorcists sweatdropped, but Allen was the first to recover. "You could say that, we'll explain later." he said, looking out through the boarded windows. "They're coming, get upstairs and hide Miss Ashley! Lavi, move that cabinet to cover one of those far windows and ready your gun. Leon, you and Mr. Luis take the window by the door."

"Where will you be?" asked Lavi as he did as was requested to.

"At the base of the stairs, I have a better vantage point there. If I say to duck, do so immediately."

Leon and Luis looked at Lavi questioningly as he shuddered. "Moyashi-chan once spotted an enemy right behind me once and I almost didn't duck in time when he shot the damn thing. He nearly took my head off."

"Don't call me that Lavi. It's bad enough coming from Kanda."

"Alright," said Luis, taking out a broomstick-barrel nine millimeter handgun. "It's game time."

--

Almost immediately the Ganados began pounding on the boarded windows. Leon shot at them between the boards, as did the others.

Lavi wasn't the best shot, but he did reasonably well at the close range and managed to take four ganados down before they broke through, then he took his ax to them instead. Swinging the weighted end first he would knock the head off of one, allowed the parasite to emerge, then backswung with the bladed end to destroy it.

Leon and Luis made a good tagteam, standing shoulder to shoulder as the boards gave way and picking off the ganados that made it through.

Allen stood on the second step, shooting over the heads of his comrades with frightening precision and calling out warnings.

"Lavi! The cabinet's busted, they've gotten through, watch your back!"

The redhead whipped around with his ax at neck height and caught the first one to get in. "Thanks!"

Just then there was a crash of glass upstairs, and Leon cursed. "Shit, they've got ladders!"

Allen felt like cursing himself. "Leon, Luis, get over here. Lavi, follow me upstairs!"

Lavi sprang backwards as soon as he finished the latest one through and dashed up the rickety stairs.

Ashley was nowhere to be seen, but they knew she was still there. She was more than likely inside the heavy cabinet across from the landing.

Allen went to the far window and knocked the ladder over just as a ganados was reaching the top, crushing him and the two others below him. Lavi did the same to the other two ladders and took a position at the top of the stairs.

Fifteen minutes of shooting and cutting seemed to force a retreat, and the fallen left behind a multitude of old coins and boxes of ammo where the ganados had dissolved.

Lavi helped Ashley out of the cabinet and the three went downstairs, shaking. Leon and Luis were talking together, and Luis looked up as the three approached.

"Ah, you two alright?" he asked, they nodded. "Leon was just telling me about you."

"What has he told ya exactly?" asked Lavi.

"Just that you guys are here looking for a lost comrade and that your white-haired friend has a bionic eye, I find that a little hard to believe though. Now, what do a couple of guys from a paranormal fanatic group want around here?"

The Exorcists sweatdropped again. "Ah, we're not paranormal fanatics. It's just that our enemy makes weapons called Akuma, or 'demons' in English. Our job is to destroy these weapons, so fighting agents are called Exorcists, we 'banish the demons' so to speak." Lavi lied through his teeth. "But we pass ourselves off as clergymen or as you so delicately put it, 'paranormal fanatics', so that most people think we're harmless and ignore us."

Luis chewed his lip while he digested this information. "I see, all the better if no one thinks you're plotting world domination or something like that. But are you?"

Allen laughed. "No, not at all. The closest you'd find to that in the Order is the head of the Science Department, Komui. He's a bit on the strange side but he's a nice guy. He'd do anything to help us Exorcists, so he keeps us prepared for battle and healthy enough to fight." he said with a small smile.

"Ah, interesting. But Leon said that you called the villager's affliction 'parasites', how do you know?"

"My eye was made to detect the luminous energy source of the Akuma through steel. I can only guess it started picking up the parasite's foreign energies in human flesh, it's done things like this before." Allen told him. "That, and it was the only way I could think of describing the things as when I saw them rip out from the villagers' heads."

Luis seemed to buy it, because he turned to leave. "Alright then, I have to leave, I forgot something. Nice meeting you two." he said with a little wave.

Once he was gone Lavi began collecting all the dropped items. "Well, that was interesting. What's with the pesetas? They fell out of currency a couple centuries ago."

Leon pulled out a drawstring bag and tossed it to the redhead. "Keep them, there's a group of merchants that hang around here. I've been finding random treasures around here and those guys will trade you coins or weapons for them."

"That's weird." said Allen. "But why is there all this ammunition? Wouldn't these people have firearms as well?"

"I have no idea, but things like money and ammo don't disintegrate like the clothes. You might as well take them."

--

The group took a few minutes more to recover from the earlier action before leaving the cabin.

As soon as they stepped out they saw a man in a hooded trenchcoat standing under the eaves of a small shack beckon them over.

The man gave a throaty chuckle as he opened the side of his coat, revealing it to be packed with various weapons. "Got somethin' that might interest you, strangers."

The Exorcists looked at Leon questioningly. The agent simply shrugged. "This is one of the merchants, they all dress the same." he told them. Turning to the merchant, he asked. "What do you have, and can you tell us anything about the road ahead?"

The merchant's eyes seemed to glitter with mirth. "A fine selection of guns stranger, and yes, I'll tell you what you want. Oh, and one of my fellows further ahead has somethin' that might suit the pale one there behind you."

Allen blinked slowly. "Me?"

"Yes you, scarred stranger. He's up in the castle, just beyond the drawbridge. I'll get word to him about ya." he rasped. "Now stranger, what would suit your fancy?"

Leon spent a few minutes talking with the merchant about his wares and the path ahead. It was revealed that the way split into two, the left one was practically filled with Ganados and the other guarded by a 'Gigante'. Leon blanched at hearing this.

"Great, another one." he muttered.

"Come back anytime strangers, heh heh." said the merchant as he waved them off.

The group looked at the two blocked paths and the opening mechanism. "Alright, left or right?" asked Leon. "Left and we fight our way through a mob, right and we face a monster...choices."

Lavi tapped him on the shoulder. "What's this monster like? You sound like you've seen one before."

"Big. It has a massive parasite in it's back that only comes out if you shoot it in the head several times. You have to slice out the bug to kill it."

"I'll handle the monster Leon." suggested Allen. "You and Lavi can protect Miss Ashley if you either follow me or take the other route, but it'd be best to stay together. Safety in numbers."

Leon hesitated. "I don't feel comfortable letting you do it alone Allen, how often do you have to kill a giant?"

"Pretty often actually. Most Akuma are several times larger than humans, so you have to be strong and fast to fight them. I'll be fine. Any weapons?"

"No, but.."

"Good. Dodging slow punches and dodging high caliber bullets laced with a rapid-decay virus are two very different things Leon." Allen told the agent.

With that the exorcist hit the lever and opened the right-hand gate. "I'm going now, meet you all on the other side."

He ran through the doors before Leon could stop him.

-

-

AN

Hello again. So what do you think?

Review please, I like constructive criticism.

Later,

Lunan.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Five- Into the Fire

All standard disclaimers apply.

-

Allen found himself in a fairly deep gorge, large rocks piled up on either side dangerously. He quietly made his way down the path and looked about.

The atmosphere made his skin crawl. The scant light from the guttering torches above cast deep shadows over the ground and the air felt thick and hot.

Allen was almost shaking as he scanned for the creature. "Where is it?" he whispered to himself.

His answer came in the form of a huge thud as the Gigante dropped into the gorge behind him with a roar.

The exorcist felt bile rise in his throat as his cursed eye located the parasite...not that it was hard, it was massive! The sickly yellow of the thing spread all the way from thin tendrils in the giant's face, through it's skull, and gathering thickly around the spine. It was obvious that this was once a human being, but to Allen's eyes it was long dead.

"Die, you miserable creature!" Allen roared as he leapt forward with his gun raised. Three shots went straight into the thing's forehead, but it didn't so much as flinch.

It raised a club-like arm and swung it down clumsily at the exorcist, nearly flattening him.

"Is that how you want to play?" Allen spat. "Well, I don't."

He dashed around behind the beast. With three clicks the weapon on Allen's weapon shifted modes once more, and he took aim.

"Take this, the first use of my cannon."

He fired one shot at a gap in the gigante's back, and watched as the bolt exploded on contact, ripping the parasite apart along with the host, chunks of flesh flying everywhere.

Soon the entire corpse was dissolving in a cloud of steam in the cold air, and the rest of the group opened the door.

"Whoa." said Lavi, stunned. "That didn't take long."

Allen stood in the middle of the gorge, turning a single bar of gold over in his hand. "No Lavi, it didn't. All I had to do was get a good shot in it's back, blew the thing apart."

"Interesting, so where'd the gold come from?"

"The monster I believe." Allen said quietly, pocketing it. "Let's go."

--

Working their way through the abandoned quarry they eventually found themselves at the edge of an even deeper gorge, a large red door on the other side.

Lavi looked about him in interest. "Now what?" he asked.

"Let's look around."

Allen had beaten Leon to the punch and headed down to a small shack. Lavi scurried after him in an undignified scramble. "Allen! Wait up!"

Allen disappeared into the shack for a minute and came out with a small stack of papers. "Here Lavi, you can read Spanish, right?"

"Sure thing Allen-kun." Lavi smiled as he took the papers. In a minute he had read through them, a grim expression coming over his face.

"What is it?" asked Leon.

"It looks like orders. I'll translate. 'It seems that the American agent has called for reinforcements, and one of them has easily defeated the gigante. We now have prepared the village's last defense. In the abandoned house at the other side of the lift I will wait to deal with these intruders, for only before my sight will the last gate open. Chief Mendez.' there are a few photos, a map, and positions for various groups. We have no choice but to take the lift and get the key to the door." Lavi said grimly.

"Fine then."

--

The ride down the lift was an interesting one. Small groups of ganados rode the upcoming cars and waited along the cliffside. Allen had to shoot them all down to keep them from throwing various sharp and heavy objects at the group. Thankfully the ride was short, and the party headed down the lower path to the abandoned house.

Just outside the doors Leon stopped. Turning to Ashley he gave her an order to hide.

Lavi laid a hand on the agent's shoulder. "You can't be thinking you're going in there alone are you?"

"Yes."

Allen stepped forward. "Well I'm not letting you. I'll go too."

"No" said Leon. "You're just kids, I can't let you go in there."

"I can handle myself Leon, and I've probably had to fight for my life a lot more than you have, against genocidal maniacs with massive weapons."

The two locked eyes for a moment before Leon conceded. "Fine, but one of you guards Ashley."

Lavi gave the man a salute and pulled Ashley a safer distance away from the building.

"Alright, into the fire."

--

The door opened with a horrible screech as Leon stepped in, followed shortly by Allen. The building was dark, and an air of decay made the back of Allen's neck prickle. The door shut behind them in the breeze with a thud.

_VREEE_

"Leon, above you!"

The agent leapt aside just in time to avoid the seven-foot tall figure that crashed down from the rafters. The figure was dressed in an ankle length coat, several bullet holes in the back.

Allen stood at Leon's side. "Chief Mendez?"

"Yeah." with that Leon kicked over a fuel barrel in front of him and moved back, it's contents spilling around Mendez's feet.

"Take this!" he said, shooting the spilled fuel.

The fuel caught light violently and the barrel exploded in Mendez's face. Leon and Allen shielded their faces from the blast, but were shocked to see the man still standing.

The charred coat fell from the man's gruesome flesh, and his hands clenched, vicious claws springing out. Then his torso exploded in a spray of blood, his spine lengthening and spider like legs erupting from his back.

They both gagged.

"This could get ugly..."

And Mendez struck. One of the new limbs lashed out at Leon, who dodged and began unloading bullets into the monster's exposed spine.

Allen took that as his cue and shifted his weapon to shoot the mine darts. Taking careful aim he shot once, and the barbed dart sunk into the column of flesh and bone.

"4...3...2..."

The dart detonated. It's blast ripped apart the spine, leaving the legs stumbling about for a moment and the separated torso fell to the floor.

"Nice shot kid." said Leon.

"Thanks."

As if on cue the spider legs spasmed, then launched the torso into the rafters.

"Crap! Not good!" Allen jumped back, scanning the smoke-choked upper level. "Behind you!"

Leon jumped aside to avoid the swinging Mendez. Turning he shot the monster a few more times before having to jump out of the way again.

"What are waiting for? Shoot the bastard!"

Allen snapped into action and switched to his cannon's grande mode and took aim. "To your right!"

At once the two let loose a flurry of bullets, and the village chief hit the ground, spewing blood and dripping slime. In moments he lay still.

Leon stepped forward for a closer look, bending over. "Nice..." he muttered, scooping up a false eye that had popped out of the chief's socket. "It looks like this is the key. Let's get out of here."

--

The group's trip back up the lift was uneventful, and had no trouble getting the gate open. They now found themselves at the bottom of a hill, and spotted torches at the bend in the road.

When a truck came barreling down the hill Allen used his cannon to blow the thing up, and then sniped off the ganados waiting at the turn ahead. Things seemed to be going smoothly until they came to a large drawbridge.

The shouts and growls of ganados sounded ahead of them, and they soon found themselves boxed in with only the bridge left open to them.

"Nothing for it, run!"

They dashed over the bridge, the ganados shuffling behind them. Allen spotted two draw mechanisms and motioned to Lavi.

"Help me raise the bridge!" he yelled as he headed to one of the gears. Lavi quickly manned the other one and the two managed to raise the bridge completely before the ganados could make it across.

"Damn, that was a little too close for comfort eh Allen?"

"Maybe, but now we're stuck here."

--

The group found themselves in the castle guardhouse, it's dark grey walls providing little change from the colorless scenery outdoors. Allen scanned the area, but found nothing.

"It's clear." he called out softly to the others. Poking his head into an alcove, he noted a glint of gold under a pile of dead grass. "Odd," he muttered, brushing the grass aside. Underneath was a beautiful gold bracelet set with large pearls. "Really odd."

Thinking little of it he scooped it up and pocketed it, but stopped as he felt something move in that same pocket. Suddenly the little golden golem Timcanpy shot out and fluttered in front of Allen's face.

"Tim! Where have you been? Never mind, stupid question...whoa!"

Tim's mouth opened and he spat out a beerstein set with catseye gems several times larger than himself into Allen's hand.

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

The little guy bobbed once in the air before spitting out several more things, a large ruby, a few pink and purple gemstones, a lady's gold mask, an antique pipe, a pocket watch, a pearl necklace, two gold bangles, another pearl bracelet, an ornate hairpiece, and an old amber ring.

Allen raised an eyebrow at him. "Treasure hunting Tim?"

Tim bobbed up and down several times, obviously pleased with himself. Allen shrugged it off and piled the smaller items into the beerstein. "Suit yourself, just be careful and stay close."

The golem bobbed again and swallowed the collection, snuggling into the collar of Allen's coat.

"You never cease to amaze me Timcanpy."

"Oi! Allen?"

"Coming."

--

It was safe to say that they were in a bit of trouble. Coming into a courtyard they heard the raspy chanting of what appeared to be monks.

Lavi leaned over and whispered into Allen's ear. "What's the verdict?"

The white-haired exorcist peered around a corner and examined the monks walking along a parquet above, they were all pulsing in yellow light. "Definitely infected."

"Then take them out." ordered Leon, staying well out of sight with Ashley.

Just then Allen felt Timcanpy land on his head. "Hang on, what is it Tim?"

The golem fluttered down to Allen's eye level and projected an image in front of him. It appeared as if Timcanpy had done an aerial sweep, and had seen several catapults in the vicinity.

"Thank you Tim." Allen said quietly, patting the golem on the head. The little guy promptly dove into Allen's coat, his job done for the moment.

"Lavi, we need to be careful. They've set up catapults in the area. I'll need you to cover me while I take out the operators."

"Got it."

Setting up his rifle Allen crept up the stairs, watching out for any incoming objects. Rounding a corner he noticed the flicker of torchlight above and to the left. He motioned for Lavi to stop, then set himself up at the corner, the video feed from the sniper scope allowing him to remain mostly out of sight.

Taking aim, he noticed a red fuel barrel behind one of the monks.

"Dead." he said, pulling the trigger. The round pierced the barrel, detonating it. The blast was more than enough to splatter the monks against the castle walls and severely damage the catapult.

Lavi smirked. "And I thought you said you didn't like explosions."

Allen glared at the irrepressible redhead. "Can we talk about this later?"

The two snuck across to hide behind a stone gazebo, only for it to smashed to pieces by a flaming projectile when they were less than five feet away.

"Holy Shit!" Allen yelped, unable to help himself.

Lavi looked at him oddly. "What was that? I've never heard you say anything remotely like a curse."

Allen glared balefully. "Shut up and let me shoot." he growled. He settled down amongst the rubble and took aim again. "What's with these guys and keeping explosive fuel in direct line of sight?" he asked. "And don't answer Lavi, rhetorical question."

"Wasn't gonna."

Allen pulled the trigger and hit the barrel dead on, blowing it up. Unfortunately, this got the attention of several guards, and they began to rush forward.

"Crap! Lavi, go get Leon!" Allen called, getting up. "We have to move!" the redhead did as he was told and ran off, leaving Allen to hold off the oncoming attackers.

He felt his cursed eye activating. In his vision some of the monks approaching him seemed to be filled with yellow lines, and their torsos overwhelmed with thick tendrils.

"Nothing for it." he whispered. He switched his weapon to magnum mode, idly noting a soft clink inside the mechanism, like a bullet being loaded into a revolver. "So that's how it works." he said and took aim. He fired at one monk's head, and nearly gagged as he saw the yellow light erupt from the neck with his left eye, and the tapeworm-like creature emerge with his right, dripping slime.

"Now that...is disgusting." he growled, face set in grim determination as he shot again. The parasite burst in a shower of blood, slime, and guts.

"Eww, gross."

Lavi had arrived with Leon and Ashley, and immediately set about cutting off heads, of both the monks and the slimy creatures that emerged. Five assailants went down, and they then heard the metal door they had come through slam.

"Crap, reenforcements." said Leon. "Move!"

They bolted, clambering up a staircase to the right and ending up on the parquet above. Peering over the side, Allen noted that the monks weren't even running.

"Odd..." he muttered. "Lavi, what do you think?"

The redhead frowned. "The big-ass gate behind us is locked...and they know it." he said while rummaging in one of his belt pouches. "Ah ha, here we go!"

He pulled out a grenade, ripped the pin off, and dropped it into the cluster of monks shuffling below. It went off with a deafening boom, and sent the oncoming attackers flying.

"Maa, now for the gate."

He unbuckled another of his pouches, and opened it to reveal the explosives set Komui had given him. He selected a charge, and delicately set it up in the middle of the door where he believed the bolt was on the other side. He backed off and nodded to Allen.

"Shoot it with your cannon, the combined explosives should blast it open well enough."

"Got it."

Allen switched to cannon, and shot the charge in the door. The explosion ripped nearly half the stone door away, and the rest crumbled apart seconds later.

Leon stared at them. "You two...are insane. Who in their right minds would carry that much compressed explosive material?!"

To Leon's immense irritation, Lavi only shrugged. "Blame Komui, he made them."

--

Past the blown up gate the group had to get past yet another locked door, only this time they had to find it's key. In a moment of uncharacteristic fury, Allen stormed off, returning five minutes later with key in hand and looking far more relaxed. When asked about it, all he said was something about a few barrels and some well-placed shots being a good method to vent one's frustration. The others didn't inquire any further.

Thankfully the door opened easily, and the foursome stepped into a marble front hall, half lit with flickering torches.

"Not bad. But the lighting could use some work." Lavi quipped.

No sooner then he had said it a malicious cackling sounded through the room, echoing off the polished floors and walls.

Ashley squeaked in surprise, Leon raised his gun, and Lavi looked to Allen, who was scanning their surroundings, cursed eye active.

"See anything Allen-kun?" the redhead asked.

Allen didn't respond immediately. "...not really." he said , moving forward. "But I'm still look..."

He was cut off as three figures came into view on the balcony above them. Two were tall and cloaked, one red and the other black, and the third was very short, dressed in a blue tailcoat and tricorn hat, giving that same cackle the group heard before.

The short man stepped forward, still laughing. "I was wondering when you might notice us."

Leon sneered up at him. "And who are you?"

The man spread his hands in a grand gesture. "Me? I am Ramon Salazar, eighth Castellan of this Magnificent architecture. I have been honored with prestigious power by Lord Saddler, and I have been expecting you my brethren." he finished with a small bow.

Leon's tone was venomous with his reply. "No thanks, bro" he spat.

"My, my, aren't you a feisty one? If you care for you well being, and for that of your companions, I suggest for you to surrender yourselves and simply...become our hostages. Or, you can just hand over the girl, because the rest of you aren't worth a penny to us, you can all die."

At that, the man and his cloaked guards left.

Ashley shivered. "I'm never becoming one of them, never!"

"Damn straight, we'll find a cure."

Lavi and Allen shared a look before daring to ask. "To what?"

Leon scowled. "The parasites."

-

-

A.N.

Sorry for the long wait, but I've been distracted by plotbunnies. I swear I've got the little buggers up to my ears, I can't go half a day without getting attacked.

Other than that I've got at least five or six other fics I've trying to work on, so my attention has been a little off as of late. Again, my apologies for making you all wait.

I appreciate constructive criticism, god knows I could use it, I'm still learning the finer points of writing after all.

Lunan.


End file.
